Sin and Virtue
by Fyuro
Summary: An alchemist, a suit of armor, a kid, a songstress, a homunculus, a dog and cat all board a train... Waiting for the punch line? There isn't one. This is the beginning of a story on how seven very unlikely people save a world where Alchemy is a forbidden practice and Letoism reigns supreme. AU, rated T for language.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note:_

_Hello all, and welcome to my newest story __Sin and Virtue.__ Now, I know that I SHOULD be working on my other FMA story... but I got this idea stuck in my head and it just wouldn't leave ^^'_

_I'd like to make a couple notes on this story. First, this is an AU story that only follows some of the basic plot of Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. Second, there will be OC's and they will be main characters. So, if you dislike OC's and Alternate Universes, this is not a story for you. And lastly, the OC's that appear will probably seem a little __Mary Sue__-ish too you at first, but the reason why will all be explained later._

_Okay, enough of my blabbering! Take a seat, get the drinks and grab the popcorn! Ladies and gents, boys and girls, it's time for the show! _

Sin and Virtue

Prologue

**.**

**.**

**.**

"The Battle of Sin and Virtue?" The old woman asked, pausing in mid-sweep.

"Yes. We've heard small bits and pieces of the story, but never the whole thing." Said the first one.

"We'd really like to hear it, if you have the time." The second one requested.

The woman chuckled, placing one hand on her hip. "So you thought you'd come ask an old timer for the whole story? Very well, very well. You boys get comfortable, it's quiet a long story." She cleared her throat loudly. The first one tapped his foot impatiently.

_"The Battle of Sin and Virtue. It was the sole event that shaped our world into what it is today. Over 500 years ago, the evil deity known as Keito, God of Darkness came; painting the land red with blood and the night black with despair. Though many tried, no mortal man could combat the dark powers of Keito and his seven Demons:_

_Pride the Arrogant_

_Lust the Lascivious_

_Greed the Avaricious_

_Envy the Jealous_

_Sloth the Indolent_

_Gluttony the Voracious_

_and Wrath the Furious_

_Our people were virtually helpless against the dark god's might. But, just when it seemed all hope was lost, that all of humanity would fall under the black veil of Keito... he came. Leto, the God of the Sun and of Light; bringing with him the warmth of sunlight and renewed hopes of the people. He combated the evils of Keito, tended to the __wounded__ and brought safety to mankind, as did his seven Angels:_

_Humility the Modest_

_Chastity the Pure_

_Charity the Benevolent_

_Kindness the Compassionate_

_Dexterity the __Persistent_

_Temperance the Abstinent_

_and Patience the Merciful._

_But even with the Great Leto and his Angels protecting the people, Keito still ran rampant through the lands; he and his Demons razing villages and settlements to the ground. Leto realized that the only way to save the people was to stop Keito, to seal away the darkness that came from his very __essence._

_Thus began a great war between Good and Evil, Right and Wrong, Darkness and Light... Sin and Virtue. It was a battle that lasted seven days and seven nights._

_On the first day, Patience sealed away Wrath._

_On the second day, Temperance sealed away Gluttony ._

_On the third day, Dexterity sealed away Sloth._

_On the fourth day, Kindness died sealing away Envy inside a Maze._

_On the fifth day, Charity sealed away Greed _

_On the sixth day, Chastity sealed away Lust._

_On the seventh day, Humility sealed away Pride. _

_Then, finally, after so many years of reigning over us in pain and terror, the God of Darkness was sealed inside a Flask by the Almighty Leto on the seventh night, during the lunar eclipse. A massive celebration was thrown by the people of Amestris. A celebration of freedom and joy. Of new __beginnings__ and hope._

_As time went on, the locations where the the sins had been sealed away were lost; their secrets scattered throughout the continent__of Amestris. Leto eventually disappeared, though his seven Angels continued to silently watch over humanity.__Finally, __blissful__ peace once again came to the country. In honor of these Angels and the god whom they served, the people established the Seven Churches._

_The Church of Humility, located in Central City._

_The__ Church of Chastity, located in East City._

_The Church of Charity, located in Dublith._

_The Church of Kindness, located in Liore._

_The Church of Diligence, located in North City._

_The Church of Temperance, located in Rush Valley._

_And the Church of Patience, also located in Central City._

_Those who were pure and showed the most virtue became Priests, Priestesses, Songstresses, Nuns, or Fathers of the Seven Churches and were blessed by the Sun God; given the power of miracles that no tainted mortal could have._

_But it is said that those who were touched by the the God of Darkness were given the Sorcerer's Art, also know as Alchemy. It is told that he used that vile, dark power to create the seven Demons that served him, and whoever possesses such powers are tainted with his evil._

_This is why Alchemy is banned in Amestris._

_And why those who practice it_

_are sentenced _

_to _

_**Death**__."_

...

...

...

The first boy raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Really?"

The elderly woman nodded. "That is the story of the origin of the Seven Churches and why the Sorcerer's Art is banned throughout Amestris."

He sighed, closing his golden eyes and rubbing his head. "That story of yours, does it have any information regarding a thing called the Philosopher's Stone?"

She stroked her chin thoughtfully. "Not that I am aware of. It would be best to consult Miss Malone on such matters. She's a Songstress of the Church of Kindness and lives in the chapel, you can see it from here." The woman pointed towards a tower that loomed over all the other, smaller buildings. "She should be able to help you. She's a very nice girl and well versed in the stories of old."

The golden haired boy grumbled something under his breath, making the larger boy in the suit of armor elbow him in the stomach, whispering to his brother to be polite. The teen sighed. "Fine fine, thank you very much for your time ma'am."

She laughed merrily and started to sweep once more. "Oh, you're very welcome dearie. Do try to stick around for the festival, won't you? It only comes once a year and it's very enjoyable."

"We'll try, thank you!" The boy in the large suit of armor promised, waving as he and the other boy walked off together.

The elderly woman shook her head and chuckled again, watching the backs of the boy with golden, braided hair and the suit of armor until they vanished from her sight. "My my, what an interesting pair."

Once the two boys were out of the woman's hearing range, the one in the armor whispered. "Brother, do you think it's a good idea to go to the church? I mean, what if they find out about our..." He looked around to make sure no once was listening before whispering even quieter. "..._situation_."

"Well, it's not like we can find our answers anywhere else. Besides Alphonse," The other brother grinned, knocking twice on his brothers chest plate with his fist. "I don't think they'll be prying open your armor just to make sure that a person is inside."

"I guess you're right." Alphonse mumbled. His demeanor quickly changed from gloomy to happy. "Wouldn't it be great if we got more information on the Philosopher's Stone? Then, we could get our bodies back to normal." He looked expectantly as his brother. "Right Ed?"

Edward grinned. "Right. But for now, let's focus on finding the church."

**.**

**.**

**.**

Liore was a bustling trade center and desert town with ancient roots dating back to two decades after the Great Battle 500 years ago. It is said that when the great Angel, Kindness the Compassionate, sacrificed her life to seal Envy the Jealous inside a maze, and that the entire area above where the maze had been buried became a flourishing oasis. The followers of Leto came several years later and began to colonize the area, building the Church of Kindness over the entrance of the Maze of Envy; the rest of the town was rumored to have been built to mirror the immense labyrinth below.

So, as you can imagine, Edward was completely, utterly, without a doubt _lost_.

...Of course, he would neveradmit it.

"Brother, maybe we should ask for direct-"

"We don't need any stinking directions!" The shorter of the two yelled, once again taking another wrong turn and reaching a dead end. He glared daggers at the wall, as if he blamed it for all their troubles. "Who in their right mind would build a town like this anyway!?"

Alphonse sighed and shook his head while his brother continued to yell at the wall. Honestly, why did his older brother had to be so stubborn?

"Excuse me, may I help you two with something?"

The brothers turned around. Standing at opposite side of the alley was a young girl, probably around 16 or 17 years old. She had long, black hair, pink bangs, pale skin and dark purple eyes. She wore a white, short sleeved dress cut off just above her knees, a pair of thong sandals and a silver bangle around each wrist. The teen girl looked a little confused, mostly likely wondering why Ed was yelling at a brick wall.

"Yes!" Alphonse exclaimed, wrapping one arm around his older brother and covering his mouth with his free hand before Ed could say 'No'. "We're trying to find the Church of Kindness, but we got lost. Could you please give us directions?"

The girl laughed. "I'll do even better than that! How about I take you there? I just finished taking some supplies to the hospital and am heading back right now."

"That would be great!"

Ed finally pulled himself out of Alphonse's iron grip (both figuratively and literally). He smoothed the wrinkles out of his red coat and quietly muttered. "We don't need directions."

The girl either didn't hear his complaint, or chose to ignore it. "I'm Rose Thomas." The she introduced as soon as the two brothers started following her.

"I'm Alphonse Elric, and this is my older brother, Edward Elric." Alphonse replied, gesturing to each of them in turn as they strolled along behind the girl..

Rose looked over her shoulder and back and forth between Ed and Al, obviously puzzled. "...Shouldn't it be the other way around?"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL THAT HE COULD GET SQUISHED BY AN ANT!? IT'S NOT MY FAULT ALL OF YOU DESERT PEOPLE ARE GIANTS!" Ed roared, flames billowing out of his mouth. Al had to restrain him before he could plunge forward and throttle Rose.

She laughed. "Maybe if you prayed harder to Leto, he'd make you taller." Rose teased, her eyes half-lidded and a small smile on her face.

"I AM NOT SHORT DAMN IT!" he bellowed.

Rose chuckled. "So, if I may ask, why are visiting the Church? Services aren't usually held until Sunday."

Alphonse released his brother and the two looked uncertainly at each other.

"We're... interested in an old story we heard a long time ago." Edward began. "And... we were hoping your Songstress would know a little more about it."

Rose hummed in thought and nodded. "Well, you've come to the right place. Malone knows a lot about the different stories from across the ages. She should know which one it is you're wanting to hear."

"Do you think she'd be willing to help us?" Alphonse asked, a little bit of concern creeping into his tone.

She smiled and nodded. "Of course! Malone will be more than happy to help you."

The suit of armor laughed jovially, though the older brother frowned, still having doubts. He never liked church people. In fact, he found their whole theology to be completely ridiculous and scientifically impossible. There were no great angels or devils, there was no magical omnipresent deity that protected you from the evils of the world and could magically cure you. Even if there was, 99% of the church followers didn't really follow the 'teachings' of Leto.

He recalled that when his mother was ill, not a single person from the local church stepped forward to help. No one even offered a 'prayer' for her recovery. Why? It was all because of the rumors. Rumors of a household that practiced Alchemy, of a father who abandoned his family to join a Keitoist cult, rumors of children touched by devils, forever cursed with the dark power, the Sorcerer's Art.

'_Why should we help a woman who married a devil?_ ' Edward once heard them murmuring as a child. '_Her ill health is Leto's way of punishment for her sins against him.'_

Ed looked up. Al was holding some kind of conversation with Rose, speaking excitedly and making many hand gestures. If it wasn't for his younger brothers situation, Ed would never have come to the church for help. But this may be one of the only chances they have to get their bodies back the way they use to be. There were very few books about Alchemy in Amestris, and even fewer regarding human transmutation or the Philosopher's Stone. The Church of Kindness had the largest and oldest library in all of Amestris. There was a possibility that the Philosophers Stone was mentioned in one of them.

They were nearing the church now. Squinting and shielding the sun out of his eyes, Ed could make out the well polished stone steps and the large statue of Leto standing at its entrance. The closer they came, the more festival decorations and stands he could see. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Yet another way the church squeezes money out of the pockets of the common folk. It was sickening. Alphonse seemed to enjoy it though, pointing out different stands and items, asking Rose what they were. She made an excellent tour guide, enthusiastically answering each and every one of the boy's questions.

Eventually, Edward asked a question of his own. "What is this whole festival thing about anyway?"

Rose turned to him, eyes wide and mouth gaping slightly. "Y-you've never heard of the Festival of Kindness?"

The golden haired boy grimaced. That had to have been the cheesiest, most nauseating name for a celebration that he had ever heard. "No, I haven't. That's why I asked." He deadpanned.

"Oh... Well, it's a festival Celebrating the day that Kindness sealed Envy inside the Maze underneath our city." she answered, her chipper attitude returning. "The festival lasts for four days, ending on the day that Kindness defeated Envy. It's a lot of fun." She grinned, her eyes lighting up with past memories. "There's lots of delicious food, and shopping... oh, and you never know what entertainers might show up and preform! It's always so exciting!"

"Doesn't it sound like fun, brother?" Alphonse asked; Ed imagined his eyes would've been sparkling nearly as much as Rose's were.

He shrugged his shoulders. "If you're into that sort of thing, I guess."

Next thing he knew, he had collided into another persons body, knocking him onto his butt. He waved the dust cloud that had formed around him upon impact out of his face and coughed.

The clouds settled, giving Ed a good look at the person he'd bumped into. She was a kid, probably not any older than 12. She had long, straight brown hair that reached the middle of her back. She was wearing a pair of cargo shorts with deep pockets, tennis shoes, a black tank top with a white stripe down the middle and a pair of heavy looking brown gloves. She was already standing and dusting herself off, a disgusted look on her face. She looked down at him. He noticed then how bright green her eyes were, they looked like they could almost glow in the dark.

"Watch where you're going!" She yelled, pulling him out of his daze.

"It's not my fault!" He snapped back, hopping to his feet and pointing accusingly at her. "_You're _the one that bumped into _me_!"

She sighed, holding up her hands in false resignation. "You're probably right. After all, you're so _short _it would be hard to see you in a crowd."

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING SO SMALL HE COULD RIDE A FLEA!?" Ed roared, his eyes aflame.

"Don't flatter yourself, you aren't tall enough to even ride that... And isn't it a little warm for you to be wearing black leather pants and a red coat? Or are you just too dim-witted to notice the heat?" She drawled slowly.

His face turned purple with rage. Al barely managed to restrain his brother before he leapt over and ripped the girl's head off. "No brother!"

"Let me at her Al! I'm going to teach this sorry kid to respect her elders!"

"Alright, alright. Ruin all my fun why don'tcha."

Ed blinked. The girl wasn't talking to him or Al, but to a medium sized brown dog and small tabby kitten pawing at her legs. She stuck her hands in her pockets and walked past them. She looked over her shoulder, a wicked grin on her face. "Later pipsqueak! And thanks!"

"PIPSQUEAK!?" He bellowed, struggling furiously against his brothers grip. "COME BACK HERE AND SAY THAT TO MY FACE YOU COWARD! DON'T PRETEND YOU CAN'T HEAR ME! I CAN SEE THAT SMIRK ON YOUR SMUG LITTLE FACE!"

"Brother! Calm down!" Al pleaded. "People are staring!" The younger brother watched as the girl disappeared into the crowd. "I wonder what she thanked us for?"

"Who cares. She's a creepy, annoying little punk." Ed huffed, finally calming down.

Alphonse turned to Rose. "Do you know who she is?"

The girl in question shrugged her shoulders. "I've never seen her before. She's probably here with her parents for the festival."

"What kind of parent raises a monster like that?" Asked Ed, dusting off his jacket.

"Brother, that's not nice."

"But it's true!"

Rose laughed nervously, waving her hands, making a 'calm down' gesture. "Why don't we continue on our path to the church? I'm sure you're eager to meet Malone."

Ed glared into the crowd. Seeing no sign of the girl, he concurred. "Fine. Let's go."

_To be continued..._

_Well, what do you think?_

_Review!_

_I love any help I can get with my writing. All constructive __criticism__, hints and tips are appreciated ^^_


	2. Chapter 2

Sin and Virtue

Chapter 01

Songstress

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**.**

**.**

"The choir room is at the very end of the hall." Rose said, her voice echoing through the corridor as she gestured down the hallway. "If you can't find Malone there, you can always ask one of the members of the church, they should know where she is."

Both Edward and Alphonse nodded. "Thank you so much for all of your help Rose." Al thanked, politely bowing at the waist.

The girl laughed. "Not a problem. I'm happy to help in any way I can." Smiling dreamily, she sighed. "It is the teaching of Leto to help those in need."

The older brother grimaced, fighting the urge to gag. "Yeah... uh... great."

Smiling brightly, Rose gave a wave of farewell and walked off, leaving the two brothers to their own devices. The large suit of armor turned to his older brother, and nodded his head. Edward nodded back in reply and the two set out down the hall.

_'What is up with these doors?' _Ed wondered. The deeper they got into the church, the bigger and gaudier the doors seemed to become. It wasn't until the 5th door that he noticed a mural embedded into the wooden surface. On the door on the left of the hall, there was a painting of a hideous monster, sitting on a throne in what looked to be a dark cave.

It looked almost humanoid; it had scaly grey hide, purple eyes with cat-like pupils, five long claws on each hand, and a beak full of pointed teeth. The thing was surrounded by scantily clad women (Edward blushed), piles of gold, jewels, and many other valuables. Scrawled in neat, gold lettering under the mural was a small sentence in a language Ed didn't understand, and the words 'Greed the Avaricious'.

Curious, the boy turned to the opposite set of double doors on the right side of the hallway. This time, the mural was of a beautiful young woman dressed in white robes. Her skin was pale and delicate looking. Her expressions was cast downward, onto the people clutching her garb, their hands reaching out her, pleading. Ed noticed the small smile on her perfect, pale pink lips.

Her outstreatched hand held an apple, handing it out to a small boy, who was looking up at her with large doe eyes. The womans eyes, though partialyly closed, were as blue as the Xingese ocean and her hair was as golden as the fine treasures in Greed's mural. Another small sentence was written under the painting, along with the name 'Charity the Benevolent'.

It wasn't until Al called for him that Edward realized he'd stopped walking. Jogging quickly to join his brother, Edward caught glimpses of the other two murals. One was of the sin Lust, a beautiful, skimpy dressed woman with the face of a feline and hooves like that of a horse. The opposite of Lust was Chastity, a young man robbed in white with golden hair and blue eyes; he wore a single gold band on his right index finger. The final set of murals was of Pride and Humility. Pride was a huge, bear-like beast, with thick, ebony fur and a snout of a crocodile. Black shadows swirling around his grinning figure.

Then, on the opposite wall, there was Humility. A small girl, no more that ten years old. Like the two before her, she had long golden hair and blue eyes. She held a small bird in her cupped hands, an aura of light surrounding her.

By the time Edward had reached the final door - the choir room – he had reached a conclusion…

Religion was seriously _messed up_.

"Let's go Al-"

"Shh! Brother, listen!" Alphonse whisper-shouted, bringing a finger to where his lips would have been.

Shoothing his brother an annoyed glare, Ed complied and listened.

_"-eth_

_Aleto mor'e _

_set deno_

_ah delo crehma _

_set nosei_

_Foreth-day_

_Morlana-"_

It was haunting and soothing at the same time, making you feel as though the voice was resonating through your entire soul, making it vibrate with a strange chill. But, it was also sad... like remorse for a lost loved one, like longing to be held again in warm arms...

"So pretty." Alphonse murmered, seeming oddly cheerful compared to the meloncholy mood Ed found himself feeling. "Think she's the Songtress that woman was talking about?"

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Ed replied. "Only one way to find out." And opened the doors.

The room was round and filled with arched, stained glass windows. The fading sunlight made the room glow with an amber light. Rows of chairs filled nearly half of the room, and a podium filled up another large chunk. Standing on the long, lavish rug leading from the seats to the pulpit, was a girl, probably in her mid-twenties.

You couldn't see the hair color under the white, nun headress she was wearing, or her body-shape under the white robe, but her pale face was slender and her features small; she looked extremely fragile, like if the wind blew too hard, she'd snap in half. Her eyes were very dark in color, maybe dark blue? It was hard for Ed to tell in this kind of lighting.

The woman stopped singing once she noticed the two boys at the end of the room; she smiled a professional, guarded smile and bowed her head. "Welcome to the Church of Kindness." She spoke, her voice as tiny and fragile as the rest of her. "How may I assist you two?"

"Um, I'm Alphonse Elric, and this is my big brother Edward Elric..." Al said sheepishly; he would have been blushing if the armor allowed him too.

"We were hoping to speak with the Songtress Malone." Ed stated, cutting right to the chase.

She smiled - though it seemed a little forced - and straightened. "I am she. What may I assit you with?"

"Well, we were wondering if you could tell us a little about an old story we heard a long time ago." Al requested.

"Oh? What's the story?"

"We were wondering what you know about something called the Philosopher's Stone." Ed said.

"The Philosopher's Stone?" She repeated, her tone taking on a harder edge. Ed could see her expression turn suspicious. "Why would you want to know about something like that?"

"It just... it was in an old story book of our father's before he... he left." Alphonse said, his eyes cast downward and his shoulders slumped, his countenance resembling one of a kicked puppy.

Malone's expression softened, though she still seemed reluctant. "I recall reading that it was an alchemic tool-" Ed was surprised that the used the world 'alchemic' instead of 'sorcerer's'. "-that caused the destruction of the advanced, ancient civilization known as Xerxes. If recall correctly, the entire population dissappeared in one night."

"Is that all you know about it?" Al tried again.

"I'm sorry, that's all I know. The story isn't a religious historical record, so I have little knowledge about it."

Ed wanted to groan. They traveled all the way here, just to have some lady tell them what they already knew. Oh, when he got back to HQ, that Flame bastard was in for an earful!

"But, there are probably records of it in the library, records I myself haven't even read." She offered, a kind smile on her face. "You two can feel free to browse, but the library is locked at 7p.m., so you'll have to leave by then."

"Really!?" Al exclaimed, a little to loud, which made him duck his head bashfully. "Um, I mean, you'd let us do that?"

Malone laughed. It was a quiet, sweet laugh that painfully reminded Ed of his mother. "Of course. Just be sure to return the books to their proper places on the shelves and do not remove anything from the library; many of the books are old and quiet fragile." Smiling, she approached the two boys; now that she was closer Ed could see that her eyes were a dark, inky blue.

The woman's smile broadened as gestured to the hall with one graceful sweeping motion. "Shall we go?"

**.**

**.**

**.**

"Wow."

When Ed said this, he said it flatly; there was no awe or excitement in his tone what-so-ever. He frowned, narrowing his eyes slightly at the room. _'Why does __**one**__ religion have to have so many freakin' books?'_

The room was large. Much larger than the library in Central, Ed summarized. The room was rectangular in shape and filled with many rows of bookshelves, beautiful – and probably very expensive – stained glass windows were placed along the walls and were in perfect symmetry with the windows on the opposite side.

In the right-hand corner of the room, there were several tables and chairs (for reading and studying on, he presumed). The bookshelves were made of a dark kind of wood that the alchemist really didn't care to try to identify and they were tall, probably a little taller than three of Alphonse stacked on top themselves. There were ladders attached to the bookcases with wheels on the bottom for reaching the higher books.

"The books you're looking for will mostly likely be in the back; probably somewhere between row 8 and 12; that's where most of the historical non-religious texts are kept." Malone informed, turning her gaze towards Ed, a small apologetic smile forming on her lips. "I'm sorry I cannot narrow your search down any further than that."

"That's okay." Alphonse replied. He turned to face her, bowing politely at the waist. "Thank you for helping us get this far."

She shook her head, closing her eyes. "Your thanks is unnecessary; it is Leto's will for us to help those in need."

Ed once again had to suppress the urge to barf. _'__Déjà vu.' _He snorted mentally before wordlessly walking away, disappearing behind a bookshelf.

"Brother!" Alphonse hissed disapprovingly at Ed's retreating back. "Uh, sorry about him." Al sighed, apologizing to Malone. "He just gets like that sometimes…" He trailed shyly.

The woman chuckled. "No need to worry, I'm not offended in the least." She assured. Bowing her head, she continued. "Now, if you will excuse me I have some chores I must attend to; would you like me to come escort you to the pilgrim's quarters once it is time to close the library?"

"Oh, that'd be great!" Al exclaimed happily.

Malone stood again, her eyes smiling. "Very well then, I pray for your success in finding the book." She turned to leave. "And please keep in mind that the books are old, so try not to handle them roughly."

"We'll try not to, thanks!" Al called as she exited. He smiled inwardly. _'She is such a nice person…'_

"Hey, Al, give me hand!"

The suit of armor turned just in time to see his brother trip; the mountain of books he had been carrying came toppling down on top of him. He winced, remembering Malone's request to treat the books gently.

"Brother! You should be more careful, you could have damaged some of the books!" Al scolded crossly, picking one up off of the pile. "I think you may have dented this one's cover!"

"Oh, don't worry about me Al, I'm just fine. Who needs to _breathe_, anyway?" Was Ed's sarcastic, muffled reply.

The suit of armor shook his head. "You wouldn't be in this mess if you'd carry a stack of books your size-"

"ARE YOU CALLING ME SHORT?!"

**.**

**.**

**.**

"Argh, this is impossible!" Ed groaned, smacking his head against the table's wooden surface for the umpteenth time that day; the many stacks of books on the table swaying as he did so. "We've been here for hours and found squat! And I'm sick and tired of reading about how 32 alchemists were hung by their thumbs for trying to turn water into wine!"

"32?" Al asked, puzzled. "My book says it was 23… Oh, wait, mine was for sparkling grape-juice, never mind…"

Ed let out another groan, running his hand down his face. "These crazy, religious zealots really need to find something better to do with their time." He grumbled bitterly. "Seriously."

"Brother, what if Malone walked in and heard you talking like that?" Al reprimanded.

"We still have plenty of time before Malone'll come and get us." Ed waved dismissively, his chair creaking as he leaned back.

"How do you know? It's already starting to get dark outside."

"Geeze, Al, I'll check if you're that worried about it." Edward sighed in exasperation, reaching into his coat pocket. He stopped, a look of confusion spreading across his face. He tried his opposite pocket. Standing, he checked his front pockets and patted his back pockets.

"Brother?" Al asked as his brother continued to pat himself all over, growing more and more frantic with each one.

"It's gone! My pocket watch is gone!" Ed cried in alarm. "Damn, Mustang'll never let me live it down if I lost it!"

"Maybe you dropped it?" Al suggested, looking under the table. "It could have fallen out of your pocket while we were looking for books…"

"Fall… THAT GIRL!" Ed snarled, his eyes narrowing into slits. "That smart-mouth girl with the freaky green eyes that bumped into me today! I bet she took it!"

"That's being awfully presumptuous, brother…" The suit of armor sighed, crawling on his hands and knees as he continued searching on the floor.

"She even _thanked _us, remember!? It must have been her!" Ed shouted, eyes blazing. "That cheeky little…"

"Is everything all right?"

Ed and Al looked up. Malone stood several feet away; a concerned, yet curious expression on her face.

"Oh, Ed just lost something of his, that's all." Alphonse explained quickly, attempting to stand up, knocking the table he was crawling underneath over in the process. Malone winced as the books and table loudly came crashing down.

"I-I'm so sorry!" Al cried, panic stricken. "I didn't mean to-!"

Malone's hand twitched, a pained expression came across her face; much like a mother grieving over the loss of one of her slain children. She shook her head, a weak, very forced smile on her lips. "It's fine…" Malone assured, her voice cracking slightly. "They were only a… a couple irreplaceable 300 year old tomes… No big deal…" The last part came out as a squeak. The woman cleared her throat, giving the brothers a strained smile. "Did… Did you find what you were looking for?"

"No…" Ed scowled at the pile of books.

"I see..." Malone trailed, her expression softening and becoming less forced. "Well, you may return and resume your search in the morning, if you wish. Until then, would you please accept my invitation to stay in the pilgrim's quarters for the evening? It's not much, but it is free and the food is good."

Ed's stomach gave a loud rumble at that moment, causing the older Elric to blush with embarrassment. Al snickered quietly at this brother's expense.

Malone smiled, quirking an eyebrow teasingly; her slain books long forgotten. "May I take that as a yes?"

"Whatever." Ed grumbled, cheeks still red.

Malone smiled again - the older brother noticed that it was much less forced than before - leading the Elric's out of the library and into the hallway. Ed watched her from behind as she and Alphonse made casual small-talk. He felt his lips tilt upward slightly when Al laughed at something the woman said.

Maybe some religious zealots weren't _so _bad.

**.**

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**.**

_Author's Note_

…_._

…_._

…_._

_Uh, wow… I'm sorry this is so unbelievably late?_

_Geeze, it's been, what… 8 months since I updated this story and another 2 since I updated __**any **__of my stories whatsoever?_

_You have my upmost apologies for being such a horrible author and leaving you all hanging for this long._

_I hope to update not only this story, but my other stories much more often than I have been._

_Sorry again, I hope you all enjoyed this (very very short) chapter!_

_Please review and tell me what you like (or what you don't like) and, if you can, how I can improve my own writing to make it more enjoyable for you all _

_~Fyuro_


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